Canada has said its growing diplomatic-outreach efforts in recent months with Middle Eastern countries, such as the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, are aimed at bringing prosperity and security to the region, and supporting the global fight against terrorism.

But while Canada may be making inroads in intelligence sharing, police co-operation and business development with these Arab states, it also must wrestle with how far to press them on human rights, justice reform and other areas where these countries and Canada don’t see eye to eye.

Government briefing documents obtained by Postmedia News, while heavily redacted, do not hide serious concerns about the suppression of political dissent and free speech in the U.A.E., for instance, or the fact that there is a wide gulf between Canada and the U.A.E. and Jordan over cyber security and Internet regulation.

Canada’s increasing engagement with countries that are not liberal democracies will be “tricky,” said Christian Leuprecht, a security expert at Royal Military College and Queen’s University. When it comes to intelligence sharing, for instance, they may employ heavy-handed interrogation techniques that Canada does not approve of.

That said, it’s important for Canada to push forward in areas where there is common ground — for instance, in dealing with Syria and Iran — while engaging in “cordial conversations” on issues where they disagree, Leuprecht said.

“Given that the region for years was an afterthought of Canadian foreign and security policy, I think we’ve achieved a good deal in a fairly short period of time,” he said. “Like any relationship that has its difficulties, it’s important to keep talking precisely in the hope of shifting views and finding common ground.”

Diplomatic relations have been tested over the years. In 2010, after Canada refused to grant the U.A.E.’s national airlines more landing rights in this country, the U.A.E. evicted Canadian forces from a military camp near Dubai and introduced new visa restrictions on Canadians visiting that country.

Tensions have since eased. “Canada and U.A.E. forge stronger ties” Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird’s office proclaimed last September after the countries signed a nuclear co-operation agreement in Ottawa.

In April, Baird met his U.A.E. counterpart at a Tim Hortons outlet in Abu Dhabi for a friendly photo-op, after which it was announced that the visa restrictions against Canadians would be dropped.

Despite the thaw, questions remain about the human-rights situation there. Briefing documents prepared for former public safety minister Vic Toews in advance of a visit to the U.A.E. in February cited the U.A.E. attorney general’s announcement that dozens of people would be tried for using social media to turn citizens against the government.

“International human rights organizations believe that national security has been used as a pretext by the U.A.E. government to suppress dissent and repress activists asking for democratic reforms,” said the briefing documents, which were obtained under access-to-information legislation.

The documents also noted that while the U.A.E.’s relatively open borders have been praised for expanding freedoms, they have also produced “financial excesses, social ills such as human trafficking, as well as opportunities for both illicit and legitimate Iranian businesses to operate there.”

Further, the documents said, “challenges remain” with the U.A.E.’s efforts to tackle terrorism financing through an underground banking system, known as hawala, whereby money can be made available internationally without actually moving it or leaving a record of the transaction.

On immigration, the briefing documents stated that, as of September 2012, Canada was investigating 150 cases of citizenship fraud involving Canadian citizens born in the U.A.E.

There is also broad disagreement between Canada and the U.A.E. and Jordan over how to regulate the Internet. Whereas Canada believes an open Internet is “essential,” its partners want to impose restrictions.

“Canada’s operating environment for cyber security varies significantly from both the U.A.E. and Jordan,” the briefing documents said. “While most Canadian critical infrastructure is in the hands of private operators, in the U.A.E. and Jordan critical infrastructure is largely under state control.”

Still, the documents underscore the strategic importance of these Arab states to Canada.

The documents note that the U.A.E. “remains an important partner for Canada in the support of regional peace and stability and the international campaign against terrorism.”

It is also described as a “key trade and investment partner.” About 150 Canadian companies have a presence there and 40,000 Canadians live there. The U.A.E. is Canada’s largest export market in the Middle East and has invested $18.5 billion in Canada, including investment in the energy sector in Alberta.

Jordan, meanwhile, is described as an Arab state with a “constructive foreign policy on all major files” and a “natural partner for Canada and an effective interlocutor between the Arab World and the West.” In October 2012, the Canada-Jordan Free Trade Agreement came into force, the first such agreement with an Arab state.

The briefing documents suggested that Toews thank Jordan for its role in international peacekeeping missions, for keeping its borders open to those fleeing violence in Syria, and for its role in training Palestinian national security forces and civilian police — an international effort in which Canada is also taking part.

The issue of Canada’s engagement with countries with questionable human-rights records came up earlier this year when Postmedia News reported on the RCMP’s plans to provide training to police in Saudi Arabia on evidence collection and case management.

Some critics questioned engaging with the Saudis because of their record of police brutality. The RCMP cast things differently.

“Our engagements can positively influence our partners by showcasing our organization’s values, and that by working together, we can assist them in creating positive changes to their policing model,” a spokesman said at the time.